How to grow small communities yet retain quality of life? Here's one ideaAffinity marketing programs are being done in many regions around the country. The concept is pretty straightforward: If you recruit people to bring their businesses to the community who already share a passion for the community's values, they will be more likely to share that sense of community.

Montana Education Excellence

Class helps kids put ideas in motionThis winter, students in the class are learning about 3-D modeling software, and one of the assignments is the design of small, wooden, carbon-dioxide-powered race cars.

Teachers collaborate with electronic mentoringThe Electronic Mentoring for Student Success program is helping teachers network with fellow educators and exchange lesson ideas while establishing a strong support system for those in the profession

U.S. schools weigh extending their hoursWhile Massachusetts is leading in putting in place the longer-day model, lawmakers in Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Washington, D.C., also have debated whether to lengthen the school day or year.

Montana Teachers struggle to find good jobsLast week, Fines attended a career fair in Washington, D.C., where recruiters were scrambling for new hires. But most of those places were too far for him to be comfortable relocating.
“They're starting at $40,000 to $45,000 for some of those school districts,” Fines said. “They're just desperate for teachers.”
If he stays in Montana, he's looking at a starting salary between $19,000 and $30,000. Many jobs on the lower end of that scale offer no or limited health insurance. Virtually none of them are in communities with more than 1,000 people.

Education is responsibility of allThe state of Montana already concedes to parents the right to home-school their children, rather than entrust education to the government. That is as it should be. But to deny that children have a right to education, to leave education at the sole discretion of those parents who may not have the best interests of their children at heart, is foolish and reprehensible.

Sun West Ranch and Madison Valley Hospital Close In On $1M Goal“We’re delighted to be involved in an initiative of such importance to everyone,” said Ted Gildred, creator of Sun West Ranch. “What could be more important than providing quality healthcare to a growing community like Ennis and the greater Madison Valley?

MBA programs chart a different course for successful professionals Dec is an example of the kind of students business schools are trying to attract to remain competitive: Relatively older, successful professionals who want more education but have neither the time nor desire to pursue a traditional 18-month, full-time MBA. Business schools are reaching these "new" students through flexible scheduling, distance-learning options, expanded course offerings and the opportunity to study in other countries.

Corporate owners hide assets, identities. States in "race to the bottom"USA TODAY's findings buttressed the money laundering report's warning that a "race to the bottom" among states vying to set minimal corporate information requirements has enabled companies to hide the identities of their owners, thereby making it harder for law enforcement agencies to track suspected tax evasion, money laundering and other crimes.

Google can hear him, and they're listeningFrom there it has been a whirlwind for Stanton, a University of Idaho student. He landed meetings with company officials and is apparently in Google's early development pipeline. (Which means he cannot reveal his great idea.)

Don't Forget to RememberThe little things that resulted in the big thing of market leadership start to get lost as the success of a business continues.

The Power of the Noncompete ClauseThe power of the noncompete clause has led to a unique Harvard Business School paper with implications for day-to-day behavior, careers, business, and policy.

5 Ways To Make Internet echnology. GreenWith the kickoff of The Green Grid, a new consortium of IT vendors promoting energy conservation in an age of power shortages, we offer five ideas you should consider in making your organization environmentally friendly.

Delta will add routes to Oregon, Washington"The reason we do Salem and Yakima is that while they are small, they do have a lot of connecting traffic, not only to the Rocky Mountains, but also to the Southeast and Southwest and the Northeast," Esposito said in a telephone interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.

Feds can pay fair share to schools in rural communitiesAn Oregon senator tried to filibuster the U.S. Senate to force colleagues to address a looming crisis for rural schools, planning to read from phone books if necessary after his prepared speeches ran out. That worked for Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” but it didn't work for Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. Senate leaders managed to shut him up not long after he started.

Toward a Wireless WorldThe 2006 surveys polled more than 300 local governments about everything from organizational arrangements to infrastructure to services.

Recognizing the Best Web Sites on Capitol HillAs the 21st Century
progresses it is becoming clear that now and in the future a significant portion of the
business of Congress will be done online. It is with this in mind that we present the 2006
Gold Mouse Report: Recognizing the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill.

Washington State Business

Washington State's hot 5 job spots"There was a time back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when some people in Seattle may have been looking for less growth, while a place like Spokane was doing a lot of soul-searching and asking 'What can we do better?' " he said.
"Now, I think those places are seeing the fruits of their labor to reinvent themselves."

Washington Vintage: A wine for all seasonsThe numbers alone tell Washington’s story – more than 450 bonded wineries (compared with fewer than 20 in the early 1980s); 350 grape growers; nine major American Viticultural Areas (AVAs); 20-plus different varietals planted and an economic impact of $3 billion.

City of Napa Going WirelessThe city of Napa, Calif., this week approved an agreement with AT&T for an approximately 12-square-mile deployment of AT&T Metro Wi-FiSM, the company's wireless broadband Internet access network solution.